The Nigerian Bar Association [NBA], National Human Rights Commission [NHRC], Legal Aid Council, Oyo State Police Command, Federation of Women Lawyers [FIDA], security operatives, Prof. Kazeem Olaniyan of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan [UI], and others, have urged Nigerians to embrace religious tolerance in order to safeguard the rights of all to profess their religious beliefs and prevent violence.
The organisations and experts made the call in their submissions during a three-day training on Human Rights Law in Response to Religious Freedom Violations with focus on the theme: ‘’ Impacts of violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief [FoRB] in Nigeria’’.
The programme, which was held at Signature Hotels, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was organised by a global non-governmental organisation [NGO], Search for Common Ground Nigeria with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands.
Participants at the training included human rights actors, members of the Civil Society Organisations [CSOs], legal practitioners, security officers, human rights commission members, journalists, scholars and religious leaders.
To prevent religious violence, and escalation of human rights issues, Search for Common Ground with funding from the Netherlands Government, convened stakeholders to discuss and act on human rights issues within the framework of freedom of religion or belief.
Participants, who spoke at the training, urged all to observe religious tolerance and prioritise peaceful conflict resolution to prevent religious violence.
According to the Senior Media Officer at Search for Common Ground, Katlong Dasat, the training programme seeks to enhance the capacity of legal practitioners and other human right actors to support individuals whose religious freedom is violated, and to build their capacity to act on human rights issues within the framework of freedom of religions and belief.
‘’The aim of this gathering is to strengthen the capacity of legal practitioners and other actors to provide the required support to persons whose rights to freedom to religious belief is being violated and also to track improved coordination mechanisms within the stakeholders. Lawyers are trained to protect human rights, security agents’’, Dasat said.
The chairman of the Ibadan NBA, reiterated the importance of religious tolerance among Nigerians, stating that differing faith should not diminish humanity, competence, performance, or relationship of individuals.
‘’We need to accommodate one another irrespective of religious differences and as a Muslim, God says He does not want every person to practice the same religion. If He wants all to worship Him the same way, He would have done it. It is not for us to begin to discriminate against ourselves because of differences in religion. And we must try to see ourselves as human beings first and foremost before any other things. We must run away from things that could exacerbate crises. Every human has a right to practice his or her religion without let or hindrance’’.
In his lectures and submissions, the UI Law Professor, Olaniyan, urged Nigerians to eschew the violation of religious rights.
According to Olaniyan, the instrumentality of law is available to resolve religious disputes before their escalation.
‘’For this Search for Common Ground, we are here for the purpose of enlightening those people, and reminding those who are enlightened of their responsibilities to stem down violence and conflict on religion. It is not possible for us to eliminate conflict but it is possible not to allow conflicts to escalate to violence. If there is a religious dispute, let us resolve it amicably’’, the professor said.
Olaniyan stressed the need to use laws to defend individual rights, referencing Section 204 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code (“Insult to Religion”), alongside Section 38 of the Constitution and Section 39. He also called for continuous public awareness campaigns, particularly among religious leaders to reduce religious violence and promote common ground in dispute resolution.
The Chairperson of FIDA in Osun state, Oluwadailola Omoshalewa Olabiyi, said the training was apt considering Section 204 of the Criminal Code on Blasphemy. Mrs Olabiyi , therefore, advocated mutual respect for individual beliefs and finding common ground during conflicts.
The FIDA boss said: ‘’ We don’t have to fight for God. Doing so will aggravate issues; instead, wrongdoing can be corrected through dialogues. Fighting is going extreme’’.
In her remarks, the Divisional Police Officer [DPO] of Apata Divisional Police, who represented Oyo State Police Command, CSP Yemisi Olawoyin-Opalola, said religion should not make Nigerians hate one another, adding that fighting for God was unnecessary.
She said: ‘’This training has revealed some secrets to me. If we can cascade this training to our different organisations, it will go a long way in changing the orientation and perception of many people, especially on religious issues.
‘’Religions should not divide us. We should see one another as one. Everyone has a right to his or her religious belief. Religion should not make us hate one another. We cannot be fighting for God’’.
The Oyo State Coordinator of National Human Rights Commission, Abayomi Ogundele and his Osun State counterpart, Nneka Anigbo; Teni Angulu, the Media and Communication Lead; Comfort Olowimiran of Civil and Political Rights, Legal Aid Council, South west; NHRC Southwest; Southwest Coordinator of Federation of Women Lawyers [FIDA]; the Senior Project Officer for Search for Common Ground, Habiba Ghazali; and the Ondo State Coordinator of Legal Aid Council, Alubi Sunmi, lauded the NGO for organising the programme.
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